Category Archives: Literature

Book review: Antti Tuomainen ~ The Rabbit Factor (Translator David Hackston) (2020)

Posted on November 22, 2023 by odeboyz

Definition: An actuary is someone who is too boring to be an accountant. To have a comedic thriller written with an actuary at its centre is amazing. And when that actuary is so boring he gets sacked because he doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Literature, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: M W Craven ~ Fearless (2023)

Posted on November 8, 2023 by odeboyz

Lee Child’s Reacher is iconic. This novel is a rip-off. Craven has judged the market can support two Reacher-style psychopathic loners living outside the law. Both, of course, are formerly law officers, and so know all the tricks. The usual … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Michael Dobbs ~ The Final Cut (1994)

Posted on October 18, 2023 by odeboyz

Dobbs is the greatest political novelist since Anthony Trollope in the Victorian era. His political ‘insider’ status and dialogue is outstanding. This re-read was an unmitigated joy from start to finish. What I’d forgotten was that this novel – the … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Politics, Review | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Ian Rankin ~ A Heart Full of Headstones (2022)

Posted on September 25, 2023 by odeboyz

The hardest thing for a book-a-year author is character development. Some authors, like Lee Child, don’t bother. Reacher is littered with vicious, psychopathic murders, which are, loosely, righteous. Other authors, like Peter James, are drifting into mediocrity losing any connexion … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

P G Wodehouse on marriage

Posted on September 4, 2023 by odeboyz

He fell in love, got married—with a sort of whoop, as if it were the greatest fun in the world—and then began to find out things

Posted in Humour, Literature | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Comprehensive Analysis

Posted on August 31, 2023 by odeboyz

A truck loaded with thousands of copies of Roget’s Thesaurus crashed yesterday losing its entire load. Witnesses were stunned, startled, aghast, taken aback, stupefied, confused, shocked, rattled, paralyzed, dazed, bewildered, mixed up, surprised, awed, dumbfounded, nonplussed, flabbergasted, astounded, amazed, confounded, … Continue reading →

Posted in education, Humour, Literature | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Philip Kerr ~ False Nine (2015)

Posted on August 28, 2023 by odeboyz

The late great Philip Kerr produced a wonderful series about the Nazi era detective, Bernie Gunther. A finely tuned understanding of the Nazi hierarchy and their corruption, sadism and gangster mentality made the series compelling. As if that wasn’t enough … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review, Sport | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sue Townsend ~ Adrian Mole: The prostate years (2009)

Posted on July 31, 2023 by odeboyz

Sue Townsend’s character Adrian Mole is a masterclass in English humour. Ever since she introduced us to The secret diary of Adrian Mole aged 133/4 the character has developed. The nerdy, geeky, unworldly, kindly and hapless Adrian continuously drifts towards … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Humour, Literature, Review | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Edmund Spenser: 16th century poet and murderous colonialist

Posted on July 24, 2023 by odeboyz

“Great force must be the instrument, but famine must be the mean[s], for till Ireland be famished it cannot be subdued.” Spenser knew exactly what he was advocating. This is his description  of famine in Ireland which he saw. “Out … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, War | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Noel Coward* in World War Two

Posted on July 20, 2023 by odeboyz

“As the tour went on he got into his stride and the reception [by the troops] improved. The conditions did not. He slept in bamboo huts, keeping one eye out for snakes, witnessed the rudimentary medical care available for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, Literature, War | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment